Thursday, October 25, 2012

A123 Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:AONE), Taxpayer stimulus waster has
declared financial bankruptcy. The interesting part is that the executives of
the company apparently getting driven to bankruptcy as well.

CEO David Viaeu and his lieutenants have run the company into
the ground after receiving more than $279 million in Recovery Act funds and
minimum $135 million from Michigan taxpayers. Yet, they have asked a bankruptcy
court judge to receive up to $4.2 million in executive and withholding bonuses
to see through the conquest of the company, probably by Johnson Controls.

NLPC has detailed the expedient nature of the leadership of A123
in the month of February. At the time A123 had unwaged 125 workers in the month
of November at its two plants in Romulus and Livonia, Michigan. Officials of
the company said waning production by A123’s top customer, Fisker Automotive,
has resulted in cutbacks. A123 had expectations of delivering batteries for
7,000 plug-in hybrid Fisker Karma models. However, defective wire harnesses in
the vehicles reduced Fisker’s production to 1,500 for the year 2011. Also, in
December, A123 has to mend dozens of batteries that had been fixed in Karmas
due to the possibility for coolant leaks. At that time, Wall Street analysts
and Forbes magazine had posted that A123 experienced a doomsday scenario and
that together with Fisker they might make up two Solyndras for the cost of one.

Despite the blunders and failures, company directors awarded top
executives with big salary perks on 8th February despite a
sharp downward course in its stock price after DOE cut Fisker off. Chief
Financial Office, David Prystash was bumped 27% to $380,000 while Robert
Johnson, VP of Energy Solutions, got an increase of 51% from his base salary.

A123’s compensations committee of its Board of Directors has
modified payment terms of its top officers should control of the company change
hands.

4 comments:

The court should review and take a closed look of what remuneration package they hv received over the good period when A123 was cash rich. No one had been fired over the bad performance and yet the shameless professionals are still asking for more money during BK. Is this normal in US history and good practice in Human resource ????What if someone after getting the fat compensation and walked to JCI who has strongly proposed this deal and assume another high ranking package ?????? cannot rule out this possibility !!!!!